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Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2009 /  Thousands venerate relic of saint 'who cared enough to touch'

by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published October 23, 2009

Larry Peplin | The Michigan Catholic Msgr. Ferdinand DeCneudt, a senior priest of Belgian descent, venerates St. Damien's relic.

Detroit - Canonized a saint only days before, St. Damien of Molokai was venerated in Detroit last week for his kindness, courage, and ministry to the sick.

A relic of the saint, a piece of his heel bone, traveled to Detroit by way of Rome on its way back to the island of Molokai, where St. Damien contracted Hansen's disease (leprosy) and eventually died bringing Christ's message of hope to the lepers there. A few hundred people seeking healing through anointing were among the thousands who attended one of five special Masses and services over the day and a half the relic was hosted at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Detroit, Oct. 13 and 14.

During the Oct. 14 afternoon Mass, attended by many in wheelchairs or using oxygen tanks, Detroit auxiliary Bishop Francis Reiss talked about how the sick came to Jesus for healing. He said it was "truly joy" to be sharing the sacrament of anointing of the sick with those gathered - the same sacrament St. Damien celebrated with the people of Molokai so many times.

Bishop Reiss said although he's never been to Molokai, he's been to Lourdes, France; after a pilgrimage people always ask if the pilgrim saw a miracle. "I always answer 'yes,' because you can see a transformation in the eyes of the sick at Lourdes from fear to calm and peace that is rooted in God's great love and concern for them," he said.

Larry Peplin | The Michigan Catholic Fr. Lane Akiona, SS.CC., a priest of the Hawaiian province of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, holds the reliquary containing the relic of St. Damien of Molokai. He is flanked by Deacon Thomas Carter (left) and Msgr. Michael LeFevre (right), and joined by Polynesian dancers for the entrance Tuesday evening into the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Detroit.

Larry Peplin | The Michigan Catholic Bishop Francis Reiss said it was "truly joy" to be sharing the sacrament of anointing of the sick with those gathered.

Larry Peplin | The Michigan Catholic Shirley Novak, with her husband, Edward, at her side, is anointed by Fr. Joe Mahoney.

Larry Peplin | The Michigan Catholic Archbishop Allen Vigneron and other priests celebrated a special Mass Tuesday morning while the relic of St. Damien was hosted by the archdiocese. Fr. Jim Kean (center) is the pastor of the new St. Damien of Molokai Parish, Pontiac, the first in the continental United States to be named after the saint.

Edward and Shirley Novak, members of St. Vincent Ferrer Parish, Madison Heights, came to the healing Mass because of their devotion of the saint; in fact, they took the same mule ride down the mountain to the settlement on their own visit to Molokai that the saint had done years before.

"He deserved it - most certainly," Shirley Novak said of the canonization. "Everything he did. He probably knew he was going to get leprosy. He must have loved the Lord."

Mary Lou Orsini, of St. Paul on the Lake Parish, Grosse Pointe Farms, brought her 83-year-old aunt for anointing. "I'm honored to be here," she said. "I'm so impressed with him," she added of the saint.

Rejeanne and Dan Buckley, of St. Anastasia, Troy, came to ask the saint for healing. They have a special connection to him; they named their son after St. Damien. "We named him after (the saint) because of his holiness, kindness and courage," Rejeanne Buckley said.

Archbishop Allen Vigneron, retired auxiliary Bishop Moses Anderson, SSE, and auxiliary Bishop Daniel Flores also celebrated Masses Oct. 14 at the cathedral. Cathedral rector Msgr. Michael LeFevre, who presided over the Oct. 13 evening Vespers service, said that many were drawn to the humble Belgian priest, born Jozef De Veuster, simply for his gift of touch.

"St. Damien cared enough to touch people," he said. "He cared enough to reach into people's lives, even as those lives faded away. When everyone else would say 'don't touch' he would touch.

"We pray that we never lose that sacred touch that Damien teaches us, a touch that reaches around the world."

Holy card image "It is at the foot of the altar that we find the strength necessary in this isolation of ours. Without the Blessed Sacrament a position of mine would be unbearable. But, having Our Lord at my side, I continue always to be happy and content. ... Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the most tender of friends with souls who seek to please Him. His goodness knows how to proportion itself to the smallest of His creatures as to the greatest of them. Be not afraid then in your solitary conversations, to tell Him of your miseries, your fears, your worries, of those who are dear to you, of your projects, and of your hopes. Do so with confidence and with an open heart." - St. Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. (Prayer card from the relic visit)

Pat Haight, of St. Isidore Church in Macomb Township, traveled to Molokai nearly a decade ago and wanted to again pay her respects that evening. "He was just a very humble man who gave up everything for the people he served," she said.

Fr. Jim Kean, pastor of St. Damien of Molokai Parish, Pontiac - which was, until earlier this year, the parishes of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Michael and Shrine of St. Joseph - said everyone knows St. Damien as the leper priest from Hawaii, but the saint was also a hard-working man who turned around a community that was in disarray.

"He is a source of hope also by his get-it-done attitude," he said.

Msgr. George T. Browne, a senior priest of the archdiocese, said that in 1974 he took a vacation to Hawaii, and visited to the community of those with Hansen's disease there. He called it a "great privilege" to celebrate Mass at the altar built by Fr. Damien, so he visited the relic to remind himself of that privilege.

Rose Wadrzyk, a member of St. Robert Bellarmine, Redford Township, grew up learning about St. Damien in grade school and how he ministered to those with leprosy. "I think he was a very holy man," he said.

Among those attending a special Mass was Elisabeth Chowdhry, a member of St. Hugo of the Hills Parish, Bloomfield Hills, who said she was there to pray for family troubles. "To me, it's very powerful to be in the presence of the relic of a saint," she said.

People lined up to have prayer cards or rosaries touched to St. Damien's reliquary, which was made of precious wood from Belgium. It rested on a bed of leaves from the ti plant, which are used in Hawaii to welcome guests, and was draped with a lei.

The relic came to Detroit via a friendship between the archbishop and Bishop Larry Silva, of Honolulu, who served in Oakland, Calif. together. Detroit was the first U.S. city to host the relic of St. Damien, who has become the unofficial patron saint of those suffering with HIV/AIDS.

Michigan Catholic reporter Jared Field also contributed to this story.